BROWN FLOUR, for thickening gravy quickly. Sift half a pound of flour into a dripping-pan and set it in a hot oven. Look at it occasionally and stir it well, taking care it does not burn; when it is the color of coffee that is half milk, or pale _café au lait_ color, take it out and put it in a tin for use. You will require a third more of this to thicken than of raw flour. CHAPTER XV. ROLLS—BAKED LIVER—CROQUETTES—WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THEM—HOTCH-POTCH. MARTA had twice made bread very satisfactorily, and Molly thought she might now show her how to make plain rolls; therefore she had told her to save out a piece of her bread dough, about a pint bowl full, and when she returned from taking the recipes to Mrs. Lennox, Molly was ready to show her how to make them. It was ten o’clock, and Molly reckoned they would be warm for dinner if made now. “These are going to be quite plain rolls; when you succeed in these we will try finer ones. Get a good table-spoonful of butter,—lard would do, but I use it as little as possible for health’s sake—put it near the fire to warm a very little; add to the dough two tea-spoonfuls of sugar; now the butter is pliable, work it in; it will take five minutes’ constant kneading to make the butter and dough quite smooth. Now you see it is softer than bread dough; if a crisp crust is wanted, work in gradually a little more flour, almost a table-spoonful,—if the weather is cold have it warm; if a soft crust is preferred leave it as it is. Put the dough to rise in a warm place behind the stove, but not too hot, or it may sour; in from two to three hours it will have risen again very light; work it over thoroughly for three or four minutes till it is again as small as now, and set it to rise again, and when light come and tell me. “This evening we shall have bisque of oysters, baked liver, and croquettes, and you can make a peach pudding by your recipe, but I want you to use cold lamb for croquettes; I will prepare it before I go out of the kitchen so that it will be ready whenever you are, and remember if you forget anything to come to me.” Molly cut the meat from the cold shoulder of lamb, removed every bit of skin and gristle, and then chopped it very fine; she had not left that to Marta because she might not be careful enough. She also flavored the meat by using a bit of onion as large as a dime chopped till as fine as sand, and a tea-spoonful of parsley, also chopped fine, and a pinch of thyme; these were mixed with the lamb, and Marta was told to do the rest as if making croquettes of chicken.